* * *
Since I had cast the spell specifically around the monster’s body, Siwoo—now in its grasp—had also entered the magic’s range.
And since the monster was mostly made of water—and Siwoo’s body was about 80% water too—that meant the electricity was conducting through him as well.
Even though I cancelled the magic as soon as Siwoo got grabbed, it was too late.
In that short moment, Siwoo had already lost consciousness.
What now?
While I hesitated, Ateol drew his sword and leapt into the air.
In a flash, he was at the monster’s towering hand, grabbed Siwoo by the hair, and slashed.
Like plucking a fruit off a tree, he twisted and yanked Siwoo free, then landed back on the ground.
My body moved instinctively, faster than thought.
I unleashed the power I’d withdrawn directly at the monster.
It convulsed, violently electrocuted.
Sparks burst around it.
The combination of electricity and water produced a blinding reaction—steam hissed as the monster’s watery body began to evaporate.
The creature’s silent scream became a sonic shriek that ripped through the air.
Everyone watching, frozen in place, staggered and clutched their ears.
Squelch.
The water evaporated, and the now smaller, snake-like monster collapsed into the bottom of the dried well.
I grabbed it with magic and flung it out onto the dirt ground outside the well.
At the same time, I saw Ateol casually toss the unconscious Siwoo to the ground.
Thankfully, it didn’t seem like Siwoo was seriously hurt—he twitched and lifted his head slightly after landing face-down.
Ateol looked down at him with a cold glare, like he wanted to kick him right there and then.
Siwoo, glancing back and forth between us, shrank under the pressure and mumbled in a small, fearful voice:
“I-I’m sorry……”
‘Like “sorry” makes it okay.’
I bit back a sigh—but then the status window flickered in front of me.
[Affection Level: Siwoo
90%]
“Siwoo is in awe of your power and feels a strong ■■.”
The affection boost didn’t feel particularly welcome.
And that blacked-out word… attraction?
Based on context, probably.
But it felt like it might be something else entirely.
Serta came by to collect the monster’s corpse, and the area was quickly cleaned up.
Atel suggested we return since the job was done, but the monster had been so bizarre that I wanted to keep an eye on its body a bit longer.
Besides, the mayor was fussing about preparing a banquet or something, so we ended up staying an extra day.
That night, while I was with Ateol, Siwoo came to find me.
Judging by how he was up and moving around, the shock hadn’t been nearly as bad as I’d feared.
Despite Ateol’s icy stare, Siwoo timidly opened his mouth, voice shrinking even further.
“I, um, I came to… apologize.”
“For what?”
“…I just… really wanted to touch the monster. I thought it might help me with my writing…”
“Wait… writing?”
Siwoo nodded. I thought I’d misheard.
‘Writing?’
He jumped at a monster for writing research?
Now I was just speechless.
Ateol smirked with one corner of his mouth, his expression murderously cold like he might throttle Siwoo on the spot.
I quietly placed a hand on Ateol’s thigh.
If one more excuse came out of Siwoo’s mouth, Ateol might actually kill him.
Siwoo was basically sticking his head into a lion’s mouth and counting its teeth.
Probably up to six by now.
“Siwoo, what you did was…”
I was about to gently scold him when a loud knock interrupted me.
All three of us turned to the door at once.
Ateol scowled and called out.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Serta.”
I tilted my head.
That wasn’t like him—Serta wasn’t one to act rashly.
At my permission, he opened the door and stepped inside, his face serious.
Something was definitely wrong.
“What’s going on?”
“…As the well refilled, something strange floated to the surface.”
“Something?”
Serta approached and handed me an object wrapped in oiled cloth.
When I unwrapped it, a glass bottle containing a rolled-up parchment was revealed.
What is this, a message in a bottle?
I opened the bottle and pulled out the parchment.
It didn’t look that old.
Written on it were the words:
“The Tower Lord is a fake.”
Sometimes the more outrageous a claim is, the more believable it becomes—especially if it shows up at just the right moment.
I had dragged the monster out of the well and defeated it with magic in front of countless people in the city.
Despite the number of witnesses, whispers of unease began to spread through some parts of the city.
Most people responded with, “Who’d believe that?”
But there are always people who do.
I figured the same must’ve happened with the other rumors that had spread before.
The mayor went pale when he saw that paper show up in his own jurisdiction.
Even though he clearly hadn’t written it himself, he bowed his head and fumbled around in a panic, so I let it go with a blank expression.
Told him to burn it or something.
Atel responded similarly.
Showing too much anger would only fan the flames, so brushing it off as absurdity was the best course.
But I couldn’t stay calm inside.
‘How did they know?’
‘Why do these rumors keep spreading?’
‘Who’s behind this?’
Even on the way back—and after—we couldn’t relax.
Ateol didn’t show himself for a couple of days.
Could the source of the rumors be the Grand Duke?
And what if Siwoo’s interference that day wasn’t just a coincidence…?
“…….”
His heart fluttered with unease.
He dressed himself and headed toward the Fourth Prince’s palace.
Siwoo, who had come to apologize yesterday at Nesare but had left awkwardly without saying much, was still visibly timid.
There might be something to dig up if I press a little.
Just as I sat across from Siwoo and was about to speak—
“You and ■■ in this ■■ case—”
“Huh?”
My mouth clamped shut.
Even I couldn’t understand what had just come out of it.
It wasn’t a beep, nor the sound of something shattering.
If anything, it was like I had read out loud broken characters as-is.
If that’s even possible.
[System: To have unrestricted conversation with Siwoo, raise Affection Level to 100%. Until then, important words will be filtered.]
Ah, so that’s what the black boxes were.
Ridiculous.
That meant none of what I’d said to Siwoo so far had been worth censoring.
What I was trying to say was, “Are you and the Grand Duke involved in this case?” —direct and to the point.
The fact that it got filtered… was that basically a yes?
I stared quietly at Siwoo.
At first, his eyes had gone wide, but now he looked increasingly flustered.
[Tip: Siwoo’s affection increases the more he learns about the protagonist. Try sharing more about yourself.]
Hmm…
If Siwoo learns a lot about me, it could increase the chance of him regaining his memory—and that’s not ideal for me in many ways.
I’ll just reveal things moderately.
* * *
